Larry Noble Quotes (74 Quotes)

He clearly gets donations from people who have business before the state and who are regulated by the state,

As a fund-raising strategy, it makes sense. As a matter of ethics, it looks terrible.

Anyway, Ms. Delahunt's role raises the possible appearance of a conflict of interest, ... The question that people always ask is -- is his opposition principled or is it practical.

Microsoft, like every other company, gives because they think it is good for their business. They anticipate a positive return on their investment.

It has to be seen for what it is. This is an industry group supported by the industry to put forward the views of the pharmaceutical industry on this issue.

Right now, a number of members are betting on the public losing interest and getting away without any new reforms.

People expect further indictments before November, which may very well be at a lower level. Then prosecutors will see how high they can take it. This is a ticking time bomb and no one knows when it will go off or how far it will detonate.

The Republicans made a very big deal about it during the Clinton administration, ... In this whole business, the whole issue is perception.

It's enticing for a lot of them to go over to that side.

It will be interesting to see if they accept the idea that not only actual corruption in politics needs to be addressed, but the appearance of corruption as well, ensuring public confidence and all that.

seems to defeat the purpose of a blind trust. Somebody else is supposed to have control over it to avoid potential conflicts of interest. If you can just reach in and sell stock, it seems it defeats the whole purpose.

A lobbyist is all about access and influence, and it's hard to imagine a better place to get influence than being treasurer of a candidate's campaign. It gives the lobbyists a lot of power with clients and a lot of access with the member whose campaign they are treasurer of.

One of the things people who are running for president try to do is keep their fundraising staff and political people close at hand. And one of the ways you can do that is by putting them in some sort of organization you run.

It's a very big perk for members (of Congress) and a very big lobbying tool for companies.

The K St. Project really changed some of the fundamental rules of the game,

What you're seeing here is what happens when a pharmaceutical industry, through lobbying and campaign contributions and influence buying, gets a program that it wants. What the industry lobbied against was any type of uniform system, and they very much got free rein over what they were going to offer and how they were going to offer it.

There is always the cliche 'a pox on both your houses.' But I do think the party in power does take extra heat on these things.

These are people who want to be close to the governor and they're buying access. Their business interests are tied up with his political agenda. And when he spends a lot of time raising money from wealthy donors, their interests are going to be the focus of discussions and he's going to be thinking about that when he makes decisions, no matter what he says.

The idea of 'cronies' has been around for a long time, ... Every president that comes in has a lot of political appointees that they can bring in with them.

We've all been waiting to see what they do with those complaints, and I think it's positive that they have brought suit.

I suspect most members don't know the right answer and they're just forced to make a judgment now in a very fluid situation.

I think everybody acknowledges its not working anymore.

He clearly is aiming at the jury pool and aiming at voters, hoping to generate as much sympathy as he can. And it shows DeLay never misses a beat when it comes to fundraising no matter how dark things get.

It's a perfect fit for the pharmaceutical industry. The fact they he shaped this bill adds to his cachet.

We see this after every major disaster or tragedy. People are putting forward their wish lists and saying it's all connected to the hurricane. We saw it after 9-11. Everyone was saying then that it was national security.

They do not have to convince the government to spend money on defense, really. Defense is a pretty secure area of the budget. In that sense, there is a built-in power that they have.

It's unusual for members of Congress to accept donations in the days surrounding contract awards because doing so can easily blow up in their face, ... There's a fine line between a contributor supporting someone who helps them and giving a contribution in direct response to getting a contract.

Theres been a lot of criticism of that because it really does put lobbyists in close with the members (of Congress) and really gives them the inside track.

It's been growing in recent years as lobbyists have been closer and closer to campaigns.

Indian tribes have become a political force, and they have to be looked at that way with regard to political contributions.

DeLay set a new benchmark for fund raising and that's not going to go away.

It's possible that the reason he sold the HCA stock was to have money to pay off the debt, but he hasn't said that, ... There's a number of financial actions going on here which fairly raise several questions.... They all could be part of one pattern or be separate things going on.

Businesses want to succeed. They want to make sure they get access and a hearing, regardless of who's in office. They're very bottom-line oriented.

There is a real incumbent advantage, because the line between campaigning and Senate duties is very thin.

The administration is walking a very tight rope here, ... because they want to support Libby, but they don't want to be seen as strong-arming Republican supporters for money.

This clearly sets up the appearance of a conflict that the state was obviously trying to avoid.

The whole culture is based on the ability to raise funds. Most of the ones who are running for the leadership are very well-connected in this fundraising community.

You're essentially shutting down someone's right to run for office. It's done only if there are strong indications that, in fact, the campaign funds are being used for something blatantly illegal.

If the justices uphold the law, it could mean a major change in how political parties operate,

I think they felt the way that many high-tech companies felt that what happened in Washington didn't affect them and that they were outside the political realm.

That is very unusual because, in effect, if you freeze or seize the account, you're stopping the campaign and most prosecutors won't do that without very good cause.

The question is where do you stop There have been some people who thought we were too broad others have gone broader than we have.

The reality is that it is mainly a Republican scandal for several reasons.

They can speak at an event, and as long as the disclaimer is there, it seems like he (McCain) is following the law.

... They're connected because often the political contributions open the door that allow the lobbyist in. The check by itself doesn't have written on it the agenda. It's the lobbyist that follows those contributions that brings the agenda.

It's a fine line and it really depends on what the contributor knew.

Lobbying is big business, and I think most of these companies probably look at the political contributions and lobbying as complementary tools,

This is an end run around the campaign finance laws. It does away with the contribution limits and it avoids disclosure, and it's a way for the special interests who are supporting him to buy access and buy influence.

In most cases, it's a discrete amount of money involved - it's not the entire campaign war chest. You are usually talking about a small percentage of the total campaign fund, in which case it's not practical to return the money because you can't figure out whose money it was that was misused.

That's a major fight. It brings in a lot of the national security issues that the administration has been hammering. This is all the things they've been using as hot-button issues to motivate the base. But they've got a problem now.